Steve Salton's Tigers, Leopards at His Home Are Dragging Down Home Values, Neighbors Say

The house next door can bring down your own home's value in all kinds of ways. If it's foreclosed-on and sitting vacant, falling into disrepair and attracting blight, that'll definitely do it. But that's not the issue homeowners on a quiet cul-de-sac in Mayfield, N.Y., are citing as a reason that their homes' values may be plummeting. They're pointing the finger at their neighbor, Steve Salton -- who has tigers and leopards as pets at his home.

Salton (pictured at left) keeps three tigers and two leopards in his backyard, where he has created an "escape-proof" sanctuary for the animals with high fences, the Times Union newspaper in Albany reported. Neighbors say that tigers and leopards have no place in a residential neighborhood, and the animals are scaring off prospective homebuyers, making nearby properties suffer value depreciation. One 3,500-square-foot home on the block had been listed for more than $400,000, but it has remained vacant with no buyers for years, the Times Union said. It suggests that the animals could be affecting the sale of the home.
Salton said that he keeps the large cats because he's passionate about caring for endangered species. "This is a 24-7 job," Salton, who has lived at his home since 1994, told the Times Union. He began taking in the cats in 2007. "I made a commitment, and I won't back away from it." The cats often roam freely within an animal enclosure in Salton's backyard, but there are large cages they can be kept in from time to time. "These animals shouldn't be caged," he added.

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A man in Omaha, Neb., was living in fear in his own home -- because it was infested with venomous brown recluse spiders. After finding 40 of the dangerous arachnids in his apartment, Dylan Baumann said that he would shake his towels before drying off after a shower, shake his clothes before putting them on and check his shoes before wearing them. Baumann said he plans to move out in September.

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When Susan Minutillo of Hudson, Fla., ran out to run an errand, she didn't expect to come back and find that her home had dropped into the ground -- after a giant sinkhole under her house suddenly swallowed half of it. Minutillo ran to her neighbors' house, but their home was soon evacuated, too, due to the danger posed by the sinkhole.

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However, neighbor Richard Travis, who moved to Salton's neighborhood in 2006 -- a year before Salton began housing his animals -- said that his friends won't come within throwing distance of his home because they're afraid of the animals in Salton's nearby yard. He now worries that the animals are dragging down the value of his home. "I bought what I think is a beautiful house, and I'm on a street where there should be other homes of this character," Travis told the Times Union. "But there can't be because of what is there. ... Would you live here?"

Salton has permits from the New York Department of Environmental Conservation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to house the tigers and leopards on his property. The departments inspect his property several times a year to ensure compliance of the permits. Part of the deal is to make the animals available for public viewing.

But the town of Mayfield is attempting to have the animals evicted from the neighborhood after receiving complaints from neighbors, including Travis, the Times Union reported. Mayfield doesn't have laws on the books specifically banning exotic animals from residential areas, but town officials have decided Salton needs a local permit to keep the animals at his home -- and they won't grant him one. The developer of Salton's subdivision has filed a lawsuit against him, claiming his animals are preventing home sales in the area.

CLARIFICATION: Steve Salton began acquiring his cats in 2007, a year after neighbor Richard Travis bought his home.

It's a scary housing market out there -- and not just because of home values. In this slideshow from This Old House, home inspectors from across the country sent some of the funniest, most eye-popping sights they've ever had the misfortune of stumbling upon. Click through to share their grief!

I think it is safe to assume that this furnace is not venting properly. I inserted a smoke emitter into the burn chamber and all of the smoke backed up into the attic. A rain cap that was installed on the chimney exhaust left little room for venting.

During our unusually cold temps in January, this unfortunate squirrel thought that he'd be OK if he just went down the chimney and followed the source of the heat. He ended up inside the furnace cabinet and got caught between two sections.